Rhoads, former Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co. director dies at age 78

December 12, 2007|By Christina Rohn News-Review Staff Writer

Rhoads, former Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co. director dies at age 78

Donald N. Rhoads of Petoskey may be best known for his successful career with the Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co., but family and friends say he'll be remembered most for his compassion and personable nature.

"He was an outgoing personality - he never met a stranger," said Patricia Rhoads, Donald's wife of 52 years. "He was very friendly."

"He was my boss for 27 years," said Kenneth Kube of Petoskey, retired manager of technical services for Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co. "He was a very family oriented individual - he cared about his people (employees) and their families as well. He took time to care."

Donald Rhoads, who retired in 1996 as director of eastern division operations for the Great Lakes Gas Transmission Co., died of kidney failure Wednesday, Dec. 5, following a surgical procedure - he was 78.

Rhoads was born July 11, 1929 and grew up in Granite City, Ill., where he met his wife just before being discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1953.

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He served as part of the crew aboard the USS Missouri during the Korean War.

"He was proud of that," Patricia said.

After leaving the Navy, Rhoads attended TN State University in Angola, Ind., where he received a degree in civil engineering. Upon graduation, he began working for the American Louisiana Pipeline Company in Detroit, and later started work at a sister company of the Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline.

Patricia said in 1968, Rhoads moved their family to Northern Michigan, where he supervised the start-up of the Great Lakes Transmission Co. and opened offices in Petoskey.

He also oversaw the construction of 500 miles of natural gas pipeline, including the stretch across the Straits of Mackinac, which Patricia said was a difficult task, and took about two years to complete.

"The day they pulled it (the pipeline) across, was a big day. They (workers) drew a face on one end of the pipeline and when they pulled it across, the face came out of the water and they had a big celebration," Patricia said. "It was a very difficult job (to lay the pipeline) with the straits moving as fast as it was."

Upon Rhoads' retirement in 1996, fellow employees got together and named the Great Lakes Transmission Co. office in Petoskey, now home to Petoskey Plastics, on the corner of Petoskey and Bay streets, after Rhoads by embedding a stone plaque into the side of it.

Patricia said many of Rhoads former employees came to his funeral Saturday, Dec. 8.

"All his employees respected him and liked him," she said. "A lot of them came to the funeral - at least a dozen from all over."

"He touched the lives of all the people in the pipeline company - I didn't know anyone that didn't like him," said Wayne Johnson of Harbor Springs, who took over Rhoads' position as director of the pipeline in 1996. "I thought he was always very fair - very sentimental. He was very loyal to his employees; it's a quality that's nice to have and you don't see it much anymore."

Kube said, at the funeral, he and other former employees of the gas company talked about Rhoads love for the job and the way he went about inspiring the others.

"He wanted you to do your best, and that's what he expected," Kube said. "He'd walk into your office in the morning and put a pile of paperwork on your desk that he'd already read and he'd begin asking you questions about it."

"You'd say, 'You have to give me the time to read this,'" Kube said. "He'd say, 'Young man, there's nights and weekends.' That's the one thing we all joked about at the funeral."

Kube said both the job and his family were the highest priorities in Rhoads' life.

"He put his family first," Kube said. "But his life was Great Lakes Gas Company, it was his family too, and that's just the way it was."

Patricia said her husband was dedicated to the job, but even more so to the family.

"He had to travel quite a bit (for the job), but when he was home, he was devoted to the family," she said. "I think he'll be remembered for the love he gave his family and how he was willing to help people out without any fanfare about it."